IHSA Class 6A state preview: Prairie Ridge vs. East St. Louis

East St. Louis’ Robert Battle converts a 4th and long against Lemont in the Class 6A semifinal in Lemont on Saturday.

East St. Louis has made regular runs to the Class 6A state title game, having participated in three of the last championship games in the division.

Each of those three times, the Flyers have run into a team from the Fox Valley Conference.

East St. Louis was thought to be pretty close to invincible heading into last year’s final against Cary-Grove, but the Trojans captured a one-point victory in a game that many consider to be one of the finest matchups in state final history.

The Flyers won’t be facing Cary-Grove again this time. But they will be facing yet another triple option team from the FVC – Prairie Ridge – and one that hopes to give the Flyers a similar level of problems.

Here’s a closer look at the two teams squaring off in the Class 6A title game.

Prairie Ridge (12-1)

Head coach: Chris Schrempf (178-62, 21 years)

Last state title game appearance: 2019, lost to East St. Louis, 43-21

Path to state

defeated Crystal Lake South, 63-55

defeated Kaneland, 57-22

defeated Harlem, 69-28

defeated St. Ignatius, 21-19

Offensive stalwart

Tyler Vasey, QB: Vasey is in the midst of one of the all-time best individual statistical seasons in state history having already rushed for a single-season best 3,776 yards and has scored a whopping 52 touchdowns. He likely won’t post his seasonal averages in a state final game, but at this point you can’t really put it past him.

Defensive stalwart

Landon Severson, LB: The collective does most of the work for the Prairie Ridge defense with very few players posting gaudy individual stats. But more often than not Severson finds his way into the mix. He’ll have to come up big against the multitude of weapons this weekend’s opponent possesses.

The wildcard

Nathan Greetham, FB: A lot of the attention has deservedly gone to Vasey for his incredible statistical exploits. But if opponents neglect Greetham he’s more than capable of burning those who leave him unattended as his 1,300-plus yard rushing totals clearly attest to.

Stat book

Prairie Ridge kicker Brogan Amherdt attempted his first field goal of the season and connected to help the Wolves to a last-second win over St. Ignatius. He had successfully made 71 extra points prior to his inaugural field goal attempt.

• The Wolves have completed 14 passes all season.

• Prairie Ridge has achieved 251 first downs this season, 215 by running the ball, 31 by penalty and just five from the passing game.

The skinny

Prairie Ridge isn’t deaf to those that are proclaiming that it is in the underdog role. But these are many of the same conversations that were being had last season at this time in regards to Cary-Grove, which put it all together in upsetting the highly-touted Flyers. It would be foolish to disregard any team that has an explosive performer like Vasey and a program that has produced some spectacular results in the past.

East St. Louis (11-2)

Head coach: Darren Sunkett (240-74, 27 years)

Last state title game appearance: 2021, lost to Cary-Grove 37-36

Path to state

defeated Oak Lawn Richards, 71-0

defeated Normal West, 40-0

defeated Crete-Monee, 45-0

defeated Lemont, 32-29

Offensive stalwart

TaRyan Martin, RB: Martin is a savvy player for being only a sophomore. He’s a gifted runner but also smart enough to realize that he’s got a massive and skilled offensive line to run behind and allows them to clear a path for him instead of pressing the issue.

Defensive stalwart

Dominic Dixon, LB: Teams don’t usually have a lot of luck getting past the first line of defense that East St. Louis provides, but if they somehow manage, the Flyers look to Dixon to clean up whatever gets through the first wave.

The wildcard

Robert Battle, QB: It feels like Battle has been around forever, but he’s still only a junior. He was limited in the semifinals by a fierce wind, but when the conditions allow, he’s capable of leading an offense.

Stat book

The defense has pitched six shutouts, including the first three rounds of the postseason.

• Against nine Illinois-based opponents, the Flyers enjoyed a 464-57 margin of victory.

• East St. Louis has a trio of players that have recorded at least 10 sacks on the season in Dominic Dixon, Antwon Hayden and Keshawn Hayden.

The skinny

Things did not materialize the way the Flyers expected last season, but they’ve spent most of the last year recapturing that East St. Louis swagger. It certainly seems to have been restored as the talent-laden roster is overflowing with confidence. Overconfidence against a Prairie Ridge team that runs a similar offense that bested the Flyers in last year’s Class 6A state title game doesn’t seem like something that’s going to happen this time around.